By Albert Lin
The racial identity of Santa Claus remains a contentious topic after a New Mexico high school teacher told a Black ninth-grader that he should not be wearing a Santa hat and beard because “Santa is white.”
School officials announced on Friday that the male teacher, whose identity has not been revealed, had been disciplined for the comments, which came last week on a day that students at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, N.M., were told they could come to school dressed as Santa, an elf or a reindeer. On Monday, a spokesperson clarified that the teacher had been put on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
